LGES & Honda Begin Construction of Joint Battery Factory in US

LG Energy Solution (LGES) and Honda have started building a joint battery factory in the US. The companies, following the example of Tesla and Panasonic’s joint factory, are rushing to benefit from government IRA payments.

LGES Solution and Honda mark the start of battery factory construction

LGES and Honda celebrated another major milestone this week. The companies have begun building a new joint venture to produce batteries for electric vehicles. On Tuesday, the structure’s first steel beam was installed at the Jeffersonville, Ohio factory.

“There are many beginnings when you form a new company to build a new facility, but today is an important milestone for the LGES-Honda team, for the local community and everyone working at the site to create our new EV battery facility,” said Bob Lee, CEO of the new LGES-Honda joint venture. “Construction is on track and we look forward to reaching many more milestones on the way to starting production of EV batteries in 2025.”

Investments will amount to $3.5 billion

LGES and Honda have pledged to invest $3.5 billion to build the factory. The total investment is projected to reach $4.4 billion. According to the plan, the enterprise will create 2,200 jobs. The factory will cover over 2 million square feet.

Start of mass production is scheduled for 2025

According to the plan, the construction of the factory should be completed by the end of 2024. Its annual production capacity will be about 40 GWh. Mass production of pouch-type lithium-ion batteries is expected to begin in 2025. All batteries produced there will be supplied exclusively to Honda’s automotive plants for the production of electric vehicles to be sold in North America. This highlights the fact that companies are rushing to benefit from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). At the moment, the biggest beneficiaries are Tesla and Panasonic, thanks to their joint facility in Nevada.